find me if you want to come clean.”
“Don’t forget your pictures,” Beck said when she got up and walked towards the door.
“You can keep them. I have copies. Call it insurance just in case I disappear.”
She felt his gaze on her back as she left his office. When she got into the elevator and the doors closed, she slumped against the wall and closed her eyes. She was glad she didn’t get the glass elevator.
Markie was shaking. What had she done? What if Beck knew where Sydney was and… She hadn’t slept in almost twenty-four hours and was making mistakes. Second—guessing herself was something she tried not to do because in her line of work it could mean the difference between life or death, hers or her clients’, and in this case, Sydney’s life.
She pushed death from her mind as she left Beck Security Systems. Sydney was still alive, she told herself, and she was going to find her.
• • •
“Malcolm, get in here,” Beck yelled into the phone then slammed it down on the desk and sank into the leather chair.
He looked at the pictures Marklynn had left behind again. The one with the woman leaning against the van caught his attention. The moon shining through the trees cast a shadow across her face. There was something familiar about her…the way she stood with her head cocked to the right. Maybe he was just grasping at straws. People didn’t come back from the dead.
“What happened that has gotten you so riled up?” Malcolm asked when he entered Beck’s office. “If this is about Lincoln Heights, I took care of it.”
“It’s not about Lincoln Heights.”
Malcolm’s eyes drifted to the pictures on Beck’s desk.
“Marklynn left these behind.” Beck handed the pictures to Malcolm.
His eyes widened as he looked at the pictures then back at Beck. “Where did she get these? Is she trying to blackmail you?”
“I don’t think so. She said she’s trying to find her sister, Sydney Brooks.”
“Sydney Brooks? Why would she think you have anything to do with her sister’s disappearance?”
“Because I think Victoria Kelly and Sydney Brooks is the same person.”
“I don’t get it. Why would Victoria lie about her name?”
“I don’t know, but I want you to find out everything you can about Sydney Brooks/Victoria Kelly. I want to find her before Marklynn does.”
“She may not find her,” Malcolm said with doubt in his voice. “You said the woman vanished.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t bet on it. She found me. Marklynn appears to be very good at what she does. She’s a private investigator.”
“Private investigator?”
“Yes. Maybe she’s working for her sister. Although, I don’t know…Sydney’s place was trashed when I got there.”
“Beck—”
“I want to know who took the pictures and why. If Sydney is involved with what’s going on here, which I believe she is, why my company?”
“Don’t you think you’re going a little overboard?” Malcolm said, looking at him as if he’d lost his mind.
“No.” He thought about the other accounts that they were barely holding on to. How many accounts would they lose before they caught
Shadoe
?
“You know at some point you’re going to have to admit we need outside help,” Malcolm said. “We can’t run the company by ourselves and you can’t go around playing detective. Why would you even go to Victoria’s, or whatever her name is, apartment? You’re lucky Markie didn’t call the police on you yesterday and have you charged with breaking and entering.”
Beck knew Malcolm was right, but he wanted to get the person responsible for sabotaging his company. He wasn’t going to stand by and have it all taken away from him.
He’d grown up with nothing because his mother’s illness had bankrupted his father. His divorce from Monika had almost cost him everything, but he’d managed to hold on to his company. He was not going to start over again. Not this time.
“What about the pictures?” Malcolm